One of the leading global law firms, Paul Hastings, has announced that it will be the first United States law firm to submit applications in order to establish a foreign legal consulting office in Korea. The applications were submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Korea. In November of 2011, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement was approved, allowing law firms based in the U.S. to open consulting firms in Korea.
The law firm already has 25 years of experience with a Korea practice that advises Korean and other international clients in transactions involving cross-border entities. Jong Han Kim, the Korea practice leader, and Daniel Kim will relocate from Hong Kong to the office opening in Seoul. Hastings hopes to have anywhere from 15-20 lawyers in Seoul within the next couple of years.
“Paul Hastings has a 25-year history of helping a wide-range of Korea-based clients with complex legal challenges,” said Jong Han Kim. “We are looking forward to providing on the ground legal expertise to our existing clients and are excited by the growth opportunities our Korea office presents.”
A Paul Hastings office opened in Tokyo in 1988 while offices opened in Beijing and Hong Kong in 2002. In 2003, an office opened in Shanghai so this is not the first time Paul Hastings has operated in the Asian legal markets.